Device for cleaning beer-pipes.



' PATENTED JAN.1'3, 1903.

A.- MLLEE. i

DEVICE EOE CLEANING BEEN PIPEs. x

APPLICATION FILED JUL'Y 17, 1902.

H0 MODEL.

9 fam/w WITNESSES.A

INVENTOR.

@Nmap STATES ATENT FFICE.

AUGUST MLLER, OF BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT.

DEVICE FR'CLEANING BEER-PIPES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 718,502, dated January13, 1903. Application filed J'uly 17. 1902. Serial Nor 115,959. (Nomodel.)

T0 a/ZZ whom, it may concern:

Beit known that I, AUGUST MLLER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Bridge.- port, county of Fairfield, State of Connecticut,have invented a new and useful Device for Cleaning Beer-Pipes, of whichthe following is a specification.

My invention has for its object to provide a simple and inexpensivedevice that will act to thoroughly and quickly cleanse beer-pipes andother stationary pipes that are liable to become foul in use.

Heretofore cleansing solutions have frequently been forced or drawnthrough beerpipes and other pipes by means of pumps. It is of coursewell understood thatbeer is ordinarily drawn through pipes made of solidtin and that the quality of the beer as drawn depends greatly upon thecondition in which the pipes are kept. Where large quantities of beerare drawn, the 'pipes do not as quickly become foul, and large drawersare, furthermore, usually provided with efficient, thoughV usuallycomplicated and expensive, means for cleaning pipes.

My present invention is adapted for use by both large and small drawersof beer and by any users of pipes liable to become foul in use, and isespecially adapted for use by the large number of small beer-drawers whohave not heretofore been provided with ecient means for cleaning pipes,the sole requirement for the use of my invention being a How of water,as from a city water-pipe or a pip from a spring.

lVith the above ends in view my invention consists in the constructionof the reservoir adapted to contain caustic potash, lye, or otherdetergent material, either loose or in its original receptacle,substantially as hereinafter described and claimed, said reservoir beingprovided at each end with a threaded vhub to receive a connection eitherto a watersupply or to a beer-pipe.

In theaccompanyingdrawings,forming part of this specification, Figure 1is a sectional view illustrating my invention; Fig. 2, an inverted planview of a holder for caustic potash, lye, orother detergents used in theform illustrated in Fig. 1.

A denotes the reservoir, which may be made have illustrated a form inwhich the reservoir consists of a cylinder either cast or drawn fromheavy sheet metal, said cylinder being externally threadedv at each endto receive threaded caps or heads 10, packing 1l being interposedbetween the ends of the reservoir and the heads. Each end ot' thereservoir is provided with a threaded hub B for the attachment of aiiexible or other connection extending either to a water-pipe or abeer-pipe, it being of course understood that my novel cleaning devicein use is interposed between a water-supply pipe (not shown) and abeerpipe (not shown) connections, (not shown,) which may of course beeither flexible or rigid, being interposed between the hubs B and thewater-supply pipe and the beer-pipe, respectively.

The device illustrated is intended to be used with loose detergentmaterial, as caustic potash .or lye. For this reason a holder C isprovided to receive the potash or other detergent material and preventit from clogging the pipes. The holder consists, essentially, of aperforated diaphragm 15, a stem 16, extending therefrom, which may beeither solid or a tube registering with a hole through the diaphragm,and a perforated disk 17, adapted to slide freely over the stem. Inorder to provide an ample water-chamber, which I have indicated by D, inthe bottom of the reservoir, I provide the diaphragm 15 withV legs 18,adapted to engage the end of the reservoir, so that the diaphragm willbe held above theplane of the lower hub B, and thus form awater-chamber.

19 indicates detergent material, as potash.

In use one head of the reservoir is removed, the disk removed `from theholder, and the latter dropped into the reservoir with the legsdownward. Then the potash or other detergent material is poured in andthe disk is placed over that, as in Fig. 1. In practice the reservoir isordinarily not entirely filled with detergent material, so as to leave achamber E above the disk. When stem 16 is a tube, as shown in thedrawings, a certain amount of water will pass through the tube and willdissolve the potash in the upper end of the res- IOO ervoir should anyget there, and thus render it impossible for the upper end of thereservoir or the beer-pipe to become clogged.

Having thus described my invention, I claiml. A device for cleaningpipes comprising a reservoir provided with inlet and outlet hubs, e diskhaving depending supportinglegs whereb7 a water-space is formedtherebelow, said legs being of a length to support the disk above theplane of the lower hub, n stem carried by seid disk, and a second diskmounted to slide on said stem.

2. A device for Cleaning pipes comprising a reservoir provided withinlet and outlet hubs, a disk mounted in said reservoir and havingsupporting-legs and arranged to support detergent material, a Waterspaeebeing formed below seid disk, said legs being of e length to support thedisk above the plane of the lower hub, a hollow stem formed integralwith said disk, and a second disk mounted to slide ou said stem.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

AUGUST MLLER.

Writn esses:

A. M. WoosTER, S. W. ATHERTON.

